Science: even with a single head injury, there will be tau protein tangles related to dementia in human brain

September 16, 2019 / Biovalley BIOON / - -- in a new study, researchers from Imperial College, University of London, UK and other research institutions for the first time visually observed the protein "tangle" related to dementia in the brain of patients suffering from a single head injury The relevant research results were published in the Journal of Science Translational Medicine on September 4, 2019 The title of the paper is "in vivo detection of central tau pathway in long-term survivors of transactional brain intervention" These scans showed the amount of tau protein in the brain of patients with traumatic brain injury Red indicates an increase in tau protein accumulation The picture is from Imperial College London In an early study, the researchers looked at 21 patients who suffered moderate to severe head injuries (mainly from traffic accidents) at least 18 years ago, and 11 healthy people who did not suffer head injuries This study shows that some of these patients have protein clumps in their brains called tau protein tangles The researchers recruited patients from the Institute of health and welfare at the University of Glasgow and the Reich Institute of technology's NHS trust They said the new study could speed up the development of ways to degrade tau tangles by allowing medical staff to monitor tau protein levels Tau proteins often help provide structural support for neurons in the brain - acting as a scaffold, but when brain cells are damaged - such as during head injury, they can form protein clumps or tangles Tau protein tangles are found in Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, and are associated with progressive neurological damage For some time, scientists have known that repeated head injuries in boxing, rugby and American football and other sports may lead to neurodegeneration and dementia in later years, especially closely related to a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy However, for the first time, scientists have observed protein tangles in living patients with a single severe head injury "Scientists are increasingly aware that head injuries have a lasting effect on the brain - and that they may continue to do so for decades after the first injury So far, however, most studies have focused on people who continue to suffer multiple head injuries, such as boxers and American rugby players This is the first time we've seen these protein tangles in patients with a single head injury " Dr gorgorgoreratis added that although these protein tangles were detected in the brains of autopsies - here, the results of the new study show that about one-third of patients with a single head injury develop protein tangles - they have never been seen in the brains of living patients before The study used a combination of a brain scan called PET scan and a substance called flortaucipir that binds to tau protein to study the amount of tau protein in the brain of patients with head injury These results show that in general, patients with head injury are more likely to form tau protein tangles This paper also shows that patients with tau protein tangles have a higher level of neural damage, especially in the white matter of the brain There was no tau protein tangle in healthy people Interestingly, these results show that patients with higher levels of tau protein tangles do not necessarily have decreased brain function, such as memory problems, compared with patients with fewer tau protein tangles However, Dr gorgorgoreratis added that these tangles may occur years before a person begins to experience symptoms such as memory loss He explained that there are still many questions to be answered about tau protein tangles and brain damage "This study helps to further understand the risk of head injury and neurodegeneration Not all patients with head injuries have these protein tangles, and some can carry them for years without symptoms Although we know that tau protein tangles are associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, we are just beginning to understand how brain trauma causes them to form What's exciting about this study is that it's the first step toward a brain scan that clearly shows the amount of tau protein in the brain and where it is With the development of treatments for tau tangles in the coming years, these brain scans will help doctors select patients who may benefit and monitor the effectiveness of these treatments " (BIOON Com) reference: 1 Nikos gorgorgorgoreratis et al In vivo detection of central tau pathway in long-term survivors of traumatic brain investment Science Translational Medicine, 2019, doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaw1993 2.Protein tangles linked with dementia seen in patients after single head injury https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-09-protein-tangles-linked-dementia-patients.html